In a break with tradition, the new England away shirt for the 2010 Football World Cup was launched last night (Feb. 9) not by an England player but by Kasabian singer Tom Meighan (pictured) in -- of all places -- Paris.

The singer took to the stage at the Olympia Theatre for an an encore of 'Fire' wearing the new Umbro strip. Perhaps confident of the England team's chances in South Africa this summer, the red away strip is based on the World Cup-winning 1966 away design with the added extra of white cuffs.

Blondie are the latest addition to the series of summer concerts put on by the UK Forestry Commission, and will play at the Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire on Jun. 20.

According to their website, the enduring New York new wave band are about to put together a new album, with this rural show one of two UK gigs this summer -- Blondie are also to play the Main Stage at the Isle of Wight Festival on Jun. 12.

The Forestry Commission's live music initiative was launched in 2001 with the purpose of attracting more people into the countryside with outdoor concerts in nature reserves across the country. Over the years there have been shows from Pulp, the Beach Boys, Paul Weller, Crowded House, Elbow, Massive Attack and Van Morrison.

It's been a long time coming but Paul Weller - former leader of the Jam, lynchpin of the Style Council and all-round Modfather - is to be honoured by weekly music magazine NME when they crown him Godlike Genius at this year's Shockwaves NME Awards on Feb. 24.

Speaking of the nomination, Weller said, "I'm very happy to accept the award; I don't feel godlike or a genius but I'm happy to have it. It's nice to be recognised, you get your rewards in other ways too like playing live and seeing people's reaction, but it's nice to be recognised. I'm very flattered. I shall find a special place for it. A little altar to myself with garlands of flowers around it!"

The Gaslight Anthem -- the New Jersey punk rock band who found international acclaim with their second album 'The '59 Sound' last year -- have revealed that a follow-up will be ready for release early this Summer.

Slated for release on Jun.15, the album will be called 'American Slang,' and is being recorded by previous album producer, ex-Flogging Molly producer Ted Hutt, at the Magic Shop studio in New York.

The band, led by Springsteen fave, Brian Fallon -- have also announced their first European and UK dates of 2010 -- after playing an impressive array of international festivals last year, including Hard Rock in London where Fallon duetted with The Boss.

Students wanting to get a lesson from the Flaming Lips' Steven Drozd (pictured) now have a date to circle in their diaries. As previously reported on Spinner, the multi-instrumentalist is set to teach at the newly institutionalized Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma. The program aims to teach students about both the construction and composition of music as well as the business side of the music industry.

Drozd is expected to give a Master Class on Wednesday (Feb. 10). This will involve an interview and Q&A but those of you thinking of dusting off your satchels and bringing in an apple for teacher had better hold back -- the class is only open to enrolled students.

Roadies and stage crew from around the world have voted U2's recent groundbreaking 360 Degree tour the best stage show around.

In an indirect and possibly unconscious homage to Spinal Tap, U2 used a giant "claw" stage to perform under, the tour being named live production of the year at the Total Production International Awards, the winners voted for by readers of the industry magazine of the same name.

TPI magazine editor-in-chief Mark Cunningham said of the claw, "It is a massive engineering feat - from scenery to video to audio with the biggest PA system to ever be seen on a tour.

"The four members of U2 are effectively the icing on the cake."

'Everybody Hurts'? Everybody buys, it seems.

The Simon Cowell-helmed charity cover version of R.E.M.'s 1993 single "Everybody Hurts" looks to have struck a chord with the British people, racking up an estimated 150,000 sales in its first two days of release.

Official midweek sales figures are released today, but it already appears likely that the star-studded collaboration will comfortably snag the top-spot on Sunday's chart. The Helping Haiti project includes contributions from Rod Stewart, Robbie Williams, Jon Bon Jovi (pictured) and Kylie Minogue plus a host of Cowell proteges like Leona Lewis, Susan Boyle and JLS, with proceeds going to help Haitians recover from January's devastating earthquake.